Why study algorithms and

performance?
• Algorithms help us to understand scalability.
• Performance often draws the line between what
is feasible and what is impossible.
• Algorithmic mathematics provides a language
for talking about program behavior.
• Performance is the currency of computing.
• The lessons of program performance generalize
to other computing resources.
• Speed is fun!
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.4
The problem of sorting

Input: sequence 〈a1, a2, …, an〉 of numbers.

Output: permutation 〈a'1, a'2, …, a'n〉 such

that a'1 ≤ a'2 ≤ … ≤ a'n .

Example:
Input: 8 2 4 9 3 6
Output: 2 3 4 6 8 9
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.5
Insertion sort
INSERTION-SORT (A, n) ⊳ A[1 . . n]
for j ← 2 to n
do key ← A[ j]
i←j–1
“pseudocode” while i > 0 and A[i] > key
do A[i+1] ← A[i]
i←i–1
A[i+1] = key

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.6
Insertion sort
INSERTION-SORT (A, n) ⊳ A[1 . . n]
for j ← 2 to n
do key ← A[ j]
i←j–1
“pseudocode” while i > 0 and A[i] > key
do A[i+1] ← A[i]
i←i–1
A[i+1] = key
1 i j n
A:
key
sorted
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.7
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.8
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.9
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.10
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.11
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.12
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.13
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.14
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.15
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 3 4 8 9 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.16
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 3 4 8 9 6

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.17
Example of insertion sort
8 2 4 9 3 6
2 8 4 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 4 8 9 3 6
2 3 4 8 9 6
2 3 4 6 8 9 done

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.18
Running time

• The running time depends on the input: an

already sorted sequence is easier to sort.
• Parameterize the running time by the size of
the input, since short sequences are easier to
sort than long ones.
• Generally, we seek upper bounds on the
running time, because everybody likes a
guarantee.

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.19
Kinds of analyses
Worst-case: (usually)
• T(n) = maximum time of algorithm
on any input of size n.
Average-case: (sometimes)
• T(n) = expected time of algorithm
over all inputs of size n.
• Need assumption of statistical
distribution of inputs.
Best-case: (bogus)
• Cheat with a slow algorithm that
works fast on some input.
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.20
Machine-independent time

What is insertion sort’s worst-case time?

• It depends on the speed of our computer:
• relative speed (on the same machine),
• absolute speed (on different machines).
BIG IDEA:
• Ignore machine-dependent constants.
• Look at growth of T(n) as n → ∞ .
“Asymptotic Analysis”
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.21
Θ-notation

Math:
Θ(g(n)) = { f (n) : there exist positive constants c1, c2, and
n0 such that 0 ≤ c1 g(n) ≤ f (n) ≤ c2 g(n)
for all n ≥ n0 }
Engineering:
• Drop low-order terms; ignore leading constants.
• Example: 3n3 + 90n2 – 5n + 6046 = Θ(n3)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.22
Asymptotic performance
When n gets large enough, a Θ(n2) algorithm
always beats a Θ(n3) algorithm.
• We shouldn’t ignore
asymptotically slower
algorithms, however.
• Real-world design
situations often call for a
T(n) careful balancing of
engineering objectives.
• Asymptotic analysis is a
useful tool to help to
n n0 structure our thinking.
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.23
Insertion sort analysis
Worst case: Input reverse sorted.
n
T ( n) = ∑ Θ ( j ) = Θ (n 2) [arithmetic series]
j =2
Average case: All permutations equally likely.
n
T ( n) = ∑ Θ( j / 2) = Θ(n 2 )
j =2
Is insertion sort a fast sorting algorithm?
• Moderately so, for small n.
• Not at all, for large n.
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.24
Merge sort

MERGE-SORT A[1 . . n]
1. If n = 1, done.
2. Recursively sort A[ 1 . . n/2 ]
and A[ n/2+1 . . n ] .
3. “Merge” the 2 sorted lists.

Key subroutine: MERGE

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.25
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12
13 11
7 9
2 1

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.26
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12
13 11
7 9
2 1

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.27
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9
2 1 2

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.28
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9
2 1 2

1 2

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.29
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9 7 9
2 1 2

1 2

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.30
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9 7 9
2 1 2

1 2 7

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.31
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.32
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7 9

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.33
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7 9

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.34
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7 9 11

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.35
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7 9 11

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.36
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7 9 11 12

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.37
Merging two sorted arrays
20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12 20 12
13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13 11 13
7 9 7 9 7 9 9
2 1 2

1 2 7 9 11 12

Time = Θ(n) to merge a total

of n elements (linear time).
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.38
Analyzing merge sort

T(n) MERGE-SORT A[1 . . n]

Θ(1) 1. If n = 1, done.
2T(n/2) 2. Recursively sort A[ 1 . . n/2 ]
Abuse and A[ n/2+1 . . n ] .
Θ(n) 3. “Merge” the 2 sorted lists
Sloppiness: Should be T( n/2 ) + T( n/2 ) ,
but it turns out not to matter asymptotically.

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.39
Recurrence for merge sort
Θ(1) if n = 1;
T(n) =
2T(n/2) + Θ(n) if n > 1.
• We shall usually omit stating the base
case when T(n) = Θ(1) for sufficiently
small n, but only when it has no effect on
the asymptotic solution to the recurrence.
• CLRS and Lecture 2 provide several ways
to find a good upper bound on T(n).

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.40
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.41
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
T(n)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.42
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn
T(n/2) T(n/2)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.43
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn
cn/2 cn/2

T(n/4) T(n/4) T(n/4) T(n/4)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.44
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn
cn/2 cn/2

cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4

Θ(1)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.45
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn
cn/2 cn/2
h = lg n cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4

Θ(1)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.46
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn cn
cn/2 cn/2
h = lg n cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4

Θ(1)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.47
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn cn
cn/2 cn/2 cn
h = lg n cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4

Θ(1)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.48
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn cn
cn/2 cn/2 cn
h = lg n cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn

…
Θ(1)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.49
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn cn
cn/2 cn/2 cn
h = lg n cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn

…
Θ(1) #leaves = n Θ(n)

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.50
Recursion tree
Solve T(n) = 2T(n/2) + cn, where c > 0 is constant.
cn cn
cn/2 cn/2 cn
h = lg n cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn/4 cn

…
Θ(1) #leaves = n Θ(n)
Total = Θ(n lg n)
September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.51
Conclusions

• Θ(n lg n) grows more slowly than Θ(n2).

• Therefore, merge sort asymptotically
beats insertion sort in the worst case.
• In practice, merge sort beats insertion
sort for n > 30 or so.
• Go test it out for yourself!

September 7, 2005 Copyright © 2001-5 by Erik D. Demaine and Charles E. Leiserson L1.52